Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1887-09-14
MARK TWAIN'S YOUTH.
Bow no Camo 70 DO n Pilot on the
Tdis3is1ippi.
an Entertaining Chat with the River Vet
sran Under whom Cicuon. 10 ,rusd
tho Crook, aud Swallows OF
lac Great River.

lac Great River.
A correspondent % the Chlcavo T,Ibvns,
writing from ~. Louis, Is authority for the
statement that Captain Horace Bi..by, Of
The magnificent steamer city Of BATON
Rouge, Is the tusst popular man on South
ern waters. Captain Bixiy IL wcll.prs.
ferved relic 81 tho goldiu ago OF tho river
and has boon n constant stullnt ~ cur.
rents AMI chutcs Tor forty years. Horace
Bixby Is the man who taught Mark Twain
how - steer steamboat, aud the success
~ his whilom cub has reflected consider.
able glory on tho tutor. That was away
lack IN tho 'Jls, when Bixty was a pilot,
nL1 after oil these years b. II Of the Opin.
I'm that n pilot Is bigger man than a
captain any day, aud especially on n dark
night In tight place. Captain Bixby Is
now sixty one years ~ age, and 10 saws:
81 an just Miro anil a half years older
than Sam Clemens" Whom In
TcnIuisccut mood tho other day he said:
at was quite remarkable how Snm Glenn
ems happened O. become pilot. Ilo has
written n great deal about 10 himself, hut
DOM believe be over told u all. 10 was ia
the spring ~ ~. was then running reg.
ularly between -. Louis aud New Orleans
and occasionally doing nm outside Job on
the Ohio river from Cincinnati % Now Or
leans. 10 was on ono II those outside trips
that first met Clemens wastakinx the
Paul Jones down from Cincinnati and he
was passenger on board. In those DAYS
the pilot.house was great loGhaI place
for passengers and pilots out Of work
They eamo In, spit all over the wheel,
snapped lics, and then left the pilot on
duty - slosh around in tho debris. I
didu't like u biz, and was mighty short
With oil pusseugors who attempted 20 talk
20 nc. One morning when the boat reached
Island No. - In the Mississippi river, and
Ne we're booming along Ht gopd GAIT, a
young man walked into tho pilot.hou
aud, after watching me FOR a few minutes,
said Good m-o-r.ni- n.g,' in a drawing
manner"
81 said 'goo.l-morning' mighty sharp,
thinking II would freeze him out But 10
d.dnf. lie said:
"'D-o-n-'t you want n boy TO
learn tho r.i.v-o-rY
"'No; don't want any boy Co learn tho
river. What are you pulling your words
that way fur?'
"'i don't know, you Will h-n-v-o
~ ask my m-o-t-h-o-r. S-h-o does
t-h-o s-a-n.o timing
81 thought no was chatting me when he
said that and looked up. but his face was
just ms sober ~ n preachers. 10 then
asked me II know tho Bowens who were
on tho river. I told him TINT did aud
worked with ono Of them In lSj3 IIo told
me- that the Bowcns lived next door 20 his
father, Judge Clemens, OF Hannibal, Mo.
In his drawing way no told mo Of his
plans. He had lcarIfed printing ne IIanni-
bal on his brothers. paper, but il did not
agree with him, md he was going 20 South
America for his health. lie liked the
river, however, aud would abandon his
projected invasion OF South America for
an opportunity to become pilot.
"'Thcre Is only ono thing that would
Induce me 90 teach you the rivcr,' said 1.
Whats t-h.a-t!' no asked.
"'Moucy,' said I.
Mono y?' lac echoed.
That's just it, answered.
allow much" he gaspcd.
Five hundred dollars | said.
"'Wo-n, | ai-n't got that mu.ch,' said
he.
"'Then you Lcttcr got IL IL you want TO
learn the rivor,' replied.
"l'vo got oi.g.h.t lots up in K-c-o-k.u-k,
Iowa, hut / don't know what they
would bring, an Eve got two thousand
acres ofl-and in Tennessee that cau Get
twenty-five cents on acre for said no
summing up hs assets. We talked for
some time and he impressed mo very
favurallv II was finally agreed that he
was % pay mo one hundred dollars down
and scvcnty.hvc dollars every six months
until the debt WAS paid. 7 told him TINT
bc would have 10 provide his own clothes
aud board while I'm port. On the river no
IL. 4. 4
llc started IN as n cub on the Alcck Scott
aud he learned rapidly. IIo was then Just
past twenty.onc, and rather eccentric.
lie always had writng-papcr aud pencil
around tho pilot-housc, and was ctcrnGlly
scrihblng away at something. I seldom
over tried TO investigate tho mysteries OF
his manuscript, Tut | soon turned his
talout to good account. In those DAYS
pilots made Out reports of tho condition of
the channel, md Clemens az once dcvcl.
oped into a brilliant md picturesque river
reporter. Ills reports were humorous and
contained oil the information, and were
frequently copied into the papers lust
as he wrote Thorn. This, think,
was tho FIRST public writing that ho dill,
except, perhaps, some squibs for tho Han
nihal paper. IIo was n good boy, not adj
dictcd 81 dissipation, and obcycd orders
aa' hfAtoN eeHlNHuFlHf uuu hStu 10 ENJOY
himself In very loose clothes, with his hair
reached back. We stored together ON
many trips, and then he changed around
and in two YGars received license that
made him y full.ncdged pilot. His
first boat was tho Alonzo Child, under
Captain Dc Haven, aud he kept turning tho
wheel tall tho war broke out. His boat was
then in tho South, md he pi'oted three
months for the ConfedCracy. Then he got
through the limos aud went home, but after
"A short stay at Hannibal he went IA vol
untecr for three months in the army Of
General Sterling Price, the Missouri Con-
fodcratc. He fought Tor the Confederacy
three moro months On land and then 70.
treated In good order, with his right rest
ing on ~. Louis. Ills brother, Orrin
Clemens, was at that time nominated
Secretary OF the Territory Of Nevada, and
lam accompanied him West. Every body
knows the rest"
Three years ago Clemens accompanied
Captain Bixby down tho river, aud the old
stories and glorios wero revived. Tho re-
suit % the trip was tho book "Old Times
on tho Mississippi"